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No counter magic at all? I know some tables can have a real visceral reaction if a deck runs an oppressive level of counters but would
Negate
/
Swan Song
to stop that one big spell that just blows people out of the water be out of place?

I will add my vote for
Mirage Mirror
being great and not just for cloning artifacts but for becoming whatever you need it to be at the right moment. Clone whatever is the best threat on the field or change its type in response to removal to have it sneak away unscathed.

Aside from that you've got a lot of the spells matter token generators, but neglected Murmuring Mystic. I'd swap The Locust God for this since you're not particularly running a card draw theme.

There aren't a lot of cards that I'm super down on, but Arcane Denial is pretty bad. Same with Baral, Chief of Compliance. Counterspells aren't the best in commander, and you don't have enough for Baral to be worthwhile

Dropped another Mission Briefing, and I'm liking it as a 2-of. The requirement can be detrimental in the very early game, and I think Briefing would just be better period if I had more burn spells. However, I don't think I will ever take it out, as I don't think Snapcaster Mage as a 2-of would be better in this case.

Switching to a more proactive build definitely helped the speed of the deck quite a bit, but it made the exact MB counterspells I chose much more important. Playtesting again on Friday, and going to switch the Mana Leaks out for Remands and try that again. Going to try to get a 4th in, but I'm not sure what to cut. Maybe the Unsubstantiate?

Ral, Izzet Viceroy as a 1-of in the MB, and Keranos, God of Storms as a 1-of in the side has been working well so far. For games where I need the big creature removal and a finisher I leave Ral in, when Ral gets removed too easily I switch him for Keranos, and in longer games I have both in the MB.

18-19 lands seems to be the sweet spot. I tried 20 and felt flooded almost every single game. This is a lot of the reason behind just the 2x Drake, and a 1-of Ral/Keranos at a time, because any more of them and they would be stranded in my hand. With the pace the deck forces the game to play at, casting Drakes around T6 and Ral/Keranos around 7 or 8 has worked just fine.

Wandering Fumarole got cut. If I had 22 lands or something ETBT would be fine, but not at 18-19.

3 months ago

Chandra's uptick is more useful when a deck isn't reactionary. I'm sure flipping over a counterspell does feel bad. I understand that skepticism. However, in saying that, her emblem is monstrous. Easily something that finishes games. Jace, the Mind Sculptor does seem to fit this play style a lot better. I understand using him instead.

That is an interesting thought with the Phyrexian Metamorph, but also something that does seem clunky and cute. That spot would be better to stop other decks, rather than simply copying their win condition.

The reason I am taking out the Spellskites is that against a deck that doesn't attack much or is combo, this card is dead. It only has 0 power which means it cannot attack. Shrapnel Blast I'm assuming is there to try and get the last bit of damage through, but you don't really want to be sacrificing your artifacts, or whatever other permanent you'll have with Liquimetal Coating. I get the combo with sacrificing lands late game with Isochron Scepter imprinting it, but that's a fragile combo and you'll probably want something more concrete. For these my thought process was to add in board wipes to help you against those aggressive matchups, of which you have Anger of the Gods. I suggested Sweltering Suns so that in a matchup that they aren't needed, you have a cycle. Your choice.

I know your hesitation with adding more lands, but 18 seems pretty low for a deck that may now have potentially 3 cards at 5 mana, as well as wanting to cast multiple spells a turn, if necessary. I only added in the two, and I felt with the benefit of the planeswalkers and Keranos they can help you draw through the rare pocket of lands.

Sideboard:
I'm just going to create a sideboard for you as a template, then you can curtail it to what you need for your meta.

Damping Sphere is a two-for-one against storm and tron. For storm, your stall tactics don't really affect them. You have a couple counters, but Remand only stops them for a turn, and they can usually pay for Mana Leak once they start. Your creature destruction also helps, but they can also do it naturally. This is that little bit extra to stop them after game 1.

Echoing Truth is a catch-all. It is really good against tokens, enchantments (that you can't deal with once they land cough coughLeyline of Sanctity), ect. It can be brought in against anything and every, and imprinting it with Isochron Scepter I'm sure will feel amazing.

Blood Moon is helpful against multi-color decks as well as an extra boost against tron. I'm not sure how bad that matchup is for you, but it couldn't hurt. Decks that don't see the mainboard Blood Moon may not fetch correctly game two, and therefore you may have the advantage of stopping their colors.

Sorcerous Spyglass is a great card to stop planeswalkers (if they land) as well as other cards that may become a hassle. The looking at your opponent's hand is also very good in being able to plan your next couple of moves.

Negate is a better hard counter against decks when Mana Leak or Remand won't cut it. Or, just extra counters if needed.

This sideboard is just a frame for you to mess around with. I don't play this kind of control so I used my knowledge of the meta, as well as when I've seen other people do, to make it. Hopefully it's at least adequate.

Against decks that are aggressive, they just tend to be the bane of control decks because they are too quick and get underneath the control decks before they can stabilize. I'd actually say that, instead of creatures, your sideboard should be more tuned to the meta. Creatures is a cool thing, but is cute. Spellskite is good because it can be used to protect your planeswalkers from targeted removal. Other than that, I'd say to take out the Electrostatic Fields and Phyrexian Metamorph (why is it in there?) to put in more universal cards to fight against other decks. I'd also switch out the Unsubstantiates for something more universal like more Echoing Truths or Repeal. If you do decide to go this kind of control route, Leyline of Sanctity is going to cause you problems, so you'll want to ensure that you can bounce it then counter it.

5 months ago

So, I was looking at the new card "Invert//Invent", and I thought that they had obsoleted "switch power and toughness" with "assigns combat damage equal to its toughness". The last time they printed switching was on Wandering Fumarole, and more recently printed Ixalan and M19.

I guess they're not going to be seriously supporting that mechanic in future sets.

5 months ago

Maybe consider the addition of Spell Snare, and also, though a lot less situational Stubborn Denial. Other cards you could save up for is more land fixing cards, getting rid or decreasing your amount of Shivan Reef and adding another Spirebluff Canal, Sulfur Falls, and another Wandering Fumarole, or just add a pair of steam vents. Another addition, you may want to add is Blood Moon to the sideboard, it allows you to slow decks like tron and KCI. Otherwise, this deck is set up pretty well. +1 from me my friend.

Wandering Fumarole occurrence in decks from the last year

Modern:

All decks: 0.03%

U/R (Izzet): 0.41%

Commander / EDH:

All decks: 0.01%

U/R (Izzet): 0.22%

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